Pasta
by Onelastdance
Summary: Roxas loves to cook. When his mum brings home her date and his teenage son, Axel, the boys decide to show the world just what Roxas can do. Amidst tons of homework and a blossoming romance between them, will Roxas be able to handle the pressure?
1. Ready, Steady, Cook

Author's Note - Okay, I've edited this one just slightly, because I wanted Julie to know Adam a bit before she invites him around for dinner, so I've had her knowing him longer as a working compainion. :) xxxx

Pasta

Roxas loved to cook. Even from when he was very young, he would always clamour to help his mum baking, and suchlike. At first, he helped to ice cakes, and decorate gingerbread men, but as he got older, he moved onto cooking dinners, and baking whole cakes, soufflés for his friends and family. It was true; Roxas was a genius in the kitchen.

Right now, Roxas was cooking something simple, tomato pasta. It had always been one of his favourites, and one of the first recipes his mum had taught him. It was a special meal, for both of them, and Roxas really cared about his mum. Cooking was a subtle way of expressing his gratitude, that's how he saw it.

He heard the jingle of keys, and the click of the front door opening. Without looking up, he called a hello to his mum.

"Hi, Roxie!" His mum – Julie - sauntered into the kitchen, dumping her bag in the corner. "Anything you want help with?"

Roxas looked up from his simmering pasta. "Can you grate some cheese for me?"

"Sure, honey." Julie danced over to the top cupboards, opening one of the many doors and pulling out the cheese grater.

She grabbed the cheese, and her neon green apron, pulling it over her head before grating the cheese over a chopping board.

"I'm a kitchen raver!" She giggled to Roxas in a singsong voice.

Roxas smiled. His mum was what one would describe as eccentric.

Her hair was a shock of blonde on top, and dyed bright red underneath. It was pulled up in a hasty ponytail, making it spike up in random places. Her eyes were bright blue, and surrounded by black kohl. Tattoos encircled her lower arms like bracelets.

Roxas, in contrast, had very pale skin, honey blond hair, and a tendency to blend into the crowd. The only things they really had in common were the bright blue eyes, and love for cooking.

But they needed each other more than anything, ever since Roxas's dad – Mark – left. Roxas knew how much that had hurt his mum. She always looked as though she could handle anything, but in truth, she was very easily broken, just like him.

In those first miserable nights, without Mark, they discovered through the pain, just how much they really needed each other. And then, they finally began to heal, stitching each other's wounds up, with immortal bonds.

So, whatever happened now, Roxas knew that they could make it through anything. They would never be hurt again.

His thoughts were interrupted by Julie's excited voice.

"Oh my gosh, Roxie, I talked to this amazing guy at work today. His art is out of this world. I've spoken to him a bit before, like we're friendly, but I never thought that he was interested in me. And, hell, he is so hot!" She giggled childishly, pulling a slip of paper out of her jeans pocket. "And look, I got his number!"

Roxas was surprised; his mum hadn't been so carefree with guys since his dad had left. He smiled, this was good though, and it meant that his mum definitely was getting better.

"And Roxie, I hope that you don't mind, but I kindof asked him over for dinner tomorrow." She looked at him in anticipation.

"Of course I don't mind, mum." Roxas grinned. He loved to see him mum so happy. "As long as I get to do the cooking, of course?"

She beamed. "Definitely, hun. I'm so glad that you don't mind."

"It'll be fun, I like catering for other people." He went to get the serving dishes out for the pasta.

"Oh, and his son's gonna come over too, he's about your age, and hopefully, he'll be a looker like his dad." She nudged him, winking.

Roxas sighed. "Mum, I don't necessarily fancy every guy I meet."

Suddenly, the musical chime of 'Jingle Bells' rang out, as their doorbell was pressed.

"I'll go and get the door, Rox." Julie said, as Roxas took the pasta off the heat. "You serve up, yeah?"

"Sure."

Julie danced off to the door, giving Roxas a moment to think about the mysterious son of his mother's current desires. He was surprised that he felt so nervous about tomorrow, and meeting him. Anyway, Roxas was always big on first impressions. He began flicking through pages of his favourite – memorized, of course – recipe book in his mind. He was gonna have to make something pretty damn special. He smiled. And he had the perfect idea.


	2. First Impressions

Pasta

Chapter 2

First Impressions

Roxas's POV

"Rox! Come here a minute!" My mum called to me.

I placed the pasta dishes down on the kitchen table, before heading down the corridor to find my mum.

"We're in here, Rox." She said, her voice coming from the living room.

I popped my head around the door, suddenly nervous, but also curious. My mum was sat on the sofa, with her back to me, chattering away to a man of about her age. A teenage boy was slumped in one of two beanbags on our floor.

"Mum?" I called.

She spun around, a big smile on her face. "Oh, Roxie, this is Adam, the guy from work who I told you about, and his son, Axel. She indicated to them. "C'mon and say hello."

I moved forward tentatively, coming to stand besides my mum. "They just popped round to drop off my ipod, I completely forgot about it being on the desk." She chattered, animatedly. Adam laughed, and I turned to him.

From my first glance, Adam looked like a pretty nice guy, relaxed, cool, and casual. He had dark blond hair, sweeping down in front of his bright green eyes. He wore dark blue jeans and a red chequered shirt, rolled up to his forearms. He had several tattoos snaking down his arms.

"Hey," He smiled. "You're Roxas, right?"

"Yepp," I answered, taking an instant liking to him. "Or Rox, Roxie, Blondie…" I tailed off, laughing nervously.

He chuckled, revealing a tongue piercing. "Yeah, I get 'blondie' all the time too; hell, it's irritating after a while. I'm tempted to dye my hair actually."

"Don't you dare!" My mum cried, "I think your hair's gorgeous, you know." She gushed.

Adam laughed. "You're so cute, Julie."

While mum chatted away with Adam, I turned to Axel.

He was slouched in the lime green beanbag, his bright red, spiky hair clashing tremendously with it. It was pulled back into a loose ponytail, ruby spikes sticking out at random angles from the back of his head. He wore tight black jeans and a long sleeved grey top, accessorized by bracelets and wristbands. He had converse on his feet, the colour of which matched his eccentric hair. His bright green eyes were outlined with black kohl, an exact match of his father's. Beneath his eyes, Axel had a small, black, teardrop tattoo on each cheekbone. He was staring into space, so I dithered, unsure whether to say anything, when he suddenly blinked, and his eyes focused back into reality.

"Hiya," He grinned, gesturing for me to sit beside him in the other beanbag.

I did so, smiling nervously at him. He tilted his head back for a moment, yawning, and I caught sight of a black thread around his neck, a twisted Celtic symbol tied to it.

"What's that symbol?" I asked suddenly, my curiousity overwhelming my natural desire to stay quiet.

He looked back at me, turning the metal symbol around in his fingers. "It means fire. Like, because of my hair colour, one of dad's little jokes. And the fire, it's hard to control, fire burns with a passion, it means courage and it signifies bravery." He smiled at me. "One can dream, right? It's also my element though, which I guess is the simple explanation. Sorry for the essay there, Rox."

"Don't be, I like learning stuff like that, it's interesting. What's my element then?" I inquired. "My birthday's March 11th."

"That would make your element 'water'." Axel said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "The emotional one."

"Great. The cry-baby, then?"

Axel shook his head, surprised. "No, it means you care, that you're a loving person."

I blushed. Axel flashed an innocent grin at me.

"Besides, it's obvious that you care a lot about your mum."

I nodded shyly, glancing over at my mum, who was smiling with Adam. I loved to see her happy, it meant the world to me.

"So," Axel said, "we're coming round tomorrow for dinner, right?"

"Yepp, I'm cooking."

Axel smirked. "Adam'd never let me loose in the kitchen, I nearly blew up the microwave when I was twelve."

"It's got a personal vendetta against you, then?" I smiled sympathetically.

"I know!" Axel complained. "I fear the wrath of the bloody kitchen, it really doesn't like me-"

He caught my incredulous glance and we burst out laughing.

"Well, if you fancy braving the kitchen tomorrow, we could chill in there whilst I'm cooking, I'll show the ropes if you'd like?" I offered.

"Sure," Axel leant close to whisper in my ear. "It's a date then, cutie."

As he pulled away from me, leaving me dazed, and bright red, Adam stood and announced that they'd better take their leave. Julie complained at first, but relented once Adam reminded her that they were coming over for dinner tomorrow.

It was her turn to turn bright red as Adam pecked her on the cheek by the front door.

"Oh. My. Gosh." Julie collapsed into a chair after Adam and Axel had left.

I rolled my eyes as I put our pasta dishes into the microwave to heat up, but my mouth burst into a grin as I turned to face my mum. She had the biggest ever smile on her face, and her eyes were shining.

"You really do like Adam, don't you mum?" I asked gently.

She looked up at him, a soft smile on her face, her eyes and expression glittering. "Yes, I do. It's early days, Rox, I know. But, I feel something, you know?"

I nodded. I knew exactly what she meant.

"So," She continued, the happy grin back in place again. She leant against the palms of her hands, smiling serenely back at me. "What did you think of Axel then?"

I went bright red, turning round to fetch the pasta dishes from the microwave. "He's nice." I murmured.

"Oh, Rox, you like him!" My mum squealed, jumping up. I popped the dished onto the table as she grabbed hold of me and gave me the biggest hug, dancing around the kitchen with me. "My little boy is growing up!"

"Okay, okay, okay," I grinned, spinning around with her. "Now sit, and eat."

"Alright mister." She smirked, before sauntering into the living room, with her pasta dish. I followed her and the pair of us dropped into the beanbags, flicking the TV on.

"I hope it's not been wrecked, heating it up and all." I murmured anxiously as she took a bite from the pasta.

"It's perfect, as always, Roxy." Julie smiled, poking me affectionately on the nose. "What're you making tomorrow, by the way?"

I tapped my nose. "Just you wait and see, mum."

We turned to the tele, eating in almost silence. Glastonbury was one, and mum murmured the lyrics to herself. I hummed along occasionally, but I felt too nervous about tomorrow. Butterflies filled my stomach, dancing about.

I'd only just realised that I'd be in a room alone with Axel tomorrow, the kitchen. And I wondered to myself, would I being feeling the heat, would more than the dinner be hotting up in the kitchen?

8D Hahah, I love the cheesy rushed ending.

No idea why it's in Roxy's POV, I just wanted to see how it worked out, let me know what you think? I'd be very grateful! :) xxxx xxxx and thankyou guys so, so much forr commenttiing on my first chaper, and reviewing it. they were lovely reviews! it is people like you that make writing wortkwhile, so thanks! ii love iitt xxxx xxxx


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